M’encanten aquestes enquestes del facebook que et pregunten: ¿1 jugador de futbol, un artista, un pilot, un algo…? Atenció que ningú et pregunta per el millor sui generi sinó que et demana de posar-ne un de cada. M’encanta perquè va molt més a gustos, perquè et deixen posar a un paquete que, però, et diu alguna cosa i no saps què o simplement aprecies. M’ha interessat molt posar a l’Atenes 5 músics, simplement. Aquí els tenen, de més vell a més jove:

Buddy Guy, nord-americà, per mi el millor bluesman de tots els temps. No tan sols té un so i una tècnica molt personals i desbordants de talent musical sinó que té una veu potent i versàtil. Mestre de mestres, sap transmetre energia sigui en cançons molt potents així com en temes calmadíssims. La meva cançó preferida de Buddy Guy és I go crazy.

Bobby McFerrin, nord-americà, és un vocalista amb influències del jazz complet, dinàmic, és un  experimentat experimentador i improvisador. A la seva veu li ha fet fer tot el que ha pogut i més, acompanyant-se de autopercussió. A més, ha acompanyat a grans artistes com Chick Corea – un monstre, també – i l’Richard Bona, entre d’altres. La meva cançó preferida – en aquest cas una versió – de Bobby McFerrin és Blue bossa, interpretada junt amb Chick Corea.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, nord-americà, és per mi el millor guitarrista de la història per tenir l’estil més ric i potent que he sentit mai. També és el meu bluesman blanc preferit, tot i que el seu estil tingui tan a veure amb el rock. Fou una bomba imparable – morí el 1990 amb 35 anys -, gran improvisador amb la guitarra i bon cantant, amb un timbre radiant. La meva cançó preferida de STV – també versió, d’Otis Rush – és All your love (I miss loving).

Antony Hegarty, anglès, és un cantant i pianista de màxima sensibilitat emocional, característica que expressa amb la música, junt a The Johnsons, la seva banda. Les seves cançons són del més potent que es pot aconseguir amb tan pocs decibels i notes. Tot i desafinar és una gran referència per a molts cantants i músics, ja que aconsegueix transmetre una sensibilitat anormal amb un estil molt personal. La meva cançó preferida d’Antony & The Johnsons és Hope there’s someone.

I per acabar.

Jari Mäenpää, finlandès, és ex-membre d’Ensiferum i fundador de Wintersun. És per mi el major exponent del death metal melòdic, una de les branques del heavy més populars actualment. Va fer el primer treball de Wintersun, de títol homònim, només acompanyat amb un bateria i assumint els papers de dues guitares, baix i veus; amb tot, va fer un dels àlbums més aclamats en molts anys dins del panorama heavy. Els seus guturals aguts són nets, molt potents i amb molt de caràcter i intenció. El domini que té de la guitarra és anormal i és capaç de fer solos impossibles mentre canta. És un perfecte compositor i front-man, comparable amb Chuck Schuldiner, fundador i front-man de Death i pioner del death metal. La meva cançó preferida de Wintersun és Beyond the dark sun.

I doncs, quins són els teus 5 músics?

Otis Rush

Dalam musik blues seperti halnya dalam musik jazz, yang mengenal istilah “jazz  standard” dikenal juga istilah “blues standard, ” yaitu lagu-lagu yang menarik untuk dimainkan dan dinterpretasi ulang oleh para pemusik generasi berikutnya Salah satu pemusik blues yang karyanya cukup banyak dimainkan dan diinterpretasi ulang adalah  Otis Rush,  pemusik blues  yang bersama Magic Sam dan Buddy Guy  pada tahun 50 an dikenal sebagai  pembawa aliran West Side Sound.  Karya yang dibawakan oleh Otis  Rush yang kemudian yang sering dibawakan oleh orang lain antara lain “Double Trouble,”  “I Can’t You Baby,” “Gambler Blues,” dan  “All Your Love.”  Lagu “All Your Love”  direkam pertama kali oleh Otis Rush pada tahun 1958, di atas label Cobra dalam piringan hitam 45 Rpm. Lagu ini  pada masa selanjutnya dimainkan dan diinterpretasi ulang oleh  John Mayall (1966),  Gary  Moore ( 1990)  dan Aerosmith ( 2000)

Inilah versi Otis Rush pemusik blues kelahiran tahun 1933 yang pada tahun 2004 harus istirahat bermain blues karena terserang stroke.

Dan pada tahun 1966 John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers dengan gitarisnya Eric Clapton ingin mendokumentasikan lagu-lagu yang biasa di bawakan di atas panggung, salah satu yang mereka pilih adalah lagu “All Your Love.” Simak bagaimana mereka membawakan lagu ini.

Dan Gary Moore pada tahun 1990, lewat albumnya “Still Got The Blues,” membawakan juga karya Otis Rush ini

Lalu belakangan juga Aerosmith

Mana yang paling menarik untuk anda ?

Di akhir tahun 70 an John Mayall, sebetulnya sudah bisa di katakan “habis”. Blues sudah tidak sepopuler di tahun 60 an.  Sejak awal tahun 70 an John Mayall memilih untuk menetap di Laurell Canyon, Los Angeles Amerika, meninggalkan kampung halamannya, Inggris. Jaman seolah sudah meninggalkan dia. Bahkan ia sempat mengalami musibah yang seolah betul-betul menghabiskan dirinya, rumahnya di Laurel Canyon dengan berbagai koleksi berharganya  terbakar habis. Tapi Well lihatlah John Mayall sekarang di usianya yang ke 76, ia masih segar bugar, bahkan tanggal 15 September kemarin album terbarunya TOUGH, album ke 57 sepanjang karir bermusiknya sudah bisa dibeli di toko on line. Bagaimana bisa ?

Di saat John Mayall ada pada titik nadir, matan anak buahnya di grup the Bluesbreakers tahun 60 an, Mike Fleetwood  sedang berjaya di Amerika dengan grupnya Fleetwood Mac.  Ini adalah Fleetwood Mac baru bukan  Fleetwood Mac akhir tahun 60 an awal 70 an yang merupakan blues. Walaupun di grup ini  tetap masih ada  Mike FLEETWOOD dan John McVie yang merupakan tokoh utama Fleetwood Mac sejak tahun 60 an, tapi saat itu seperti halnya John Mayall yang sudah pindah ke Los Angeles, Fleetwood Mac juga sudah berubah warna musik menjadi pop rock, dan sedang ada dipuncak ketenaran berkat album mereka Rumors. Adalah John McVie yang memberi saran pada John Mayall untuk kembali menghidupkan The Blues Breakers, dengan pola mengetengahkan seorang lead guitar, seperti halnya di era Eric Clapton (1966),  Peter Green ( 1967) dan Mick Taylor ( 1968).  Sebab untuk di ketahui sejak saat itu, mungkin dorongan sifat petualangan seorang seniman,  John Mayall banyak bereksperimen, ada rekaman yang tidak memakai drum ( album Turning Point ), rekaman yang dibuat hanya ditemani pemain drums (album Blues Alone) dan album yang berupa rekaman Jazz Blues Fusion ( album Jazz Blues Fusion dan Movin’ On).  Dan John McVie tidak hanya sekedar memberi saran, ia juga menyediakan waktu dan tenaganya hingga terbentuklah John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers dengan formasi John Mayall (vocal. gtr, hrmnica. organ).  Mick Taylor (gitar) dan John McVie (bas) dan Collin Allen (drums). Grup ini melakulan mintur pada awal tahun 80 an dan melahirkan album The Reunion Concert.

John McVie tak bisa berlama-lama meninggalkan Fleetwood Mac, ia meninggalkan The Bluesbreakers, demikian juga Mick Taylor. Tapi John Mayall sekarang merasa sudah memiliki visi kembali.  Pada tahun 2004 Ia membentuk The Bluesbreakers dengan duet lead guitar, Coco Montoya dan Walter Trout pada tahun 1984, yang menghasilkan  dua rekaman live  Live In Iron Curtain dan The Power Of The Blues, serta satu Video Live At The Iowa University.

John Mayall mulai kembali mengeluarkan album pada tahun 1988, CHICAGO LINE dan  A SENSE OF PLACE  pada tahun 1990, dengan gitarisnya Coco Montoya. Tapi baru pada album WAKE UP CALL yang direkam di atas label Silverstone, ia mulai makin menunjukan eksistensinya. Pada lagu “I Could Cry” yang ada pada album ini, ia berduet dengan Buddy Guy.  Yang kemudian di susul oleh Spinning Coin ( disini mulai bergabung Buddy Whitington) dan Blues For The Lost Day, sebelum akhirnya ia bergabung dengan perusahaan Eagle Entertaiment, untuk menghasilkan Padlock On The Blues, Along For The Ride, dimana di album ini John Mayall berduet dengan salah seorang pemusik blues yang cukup berpengaruh pada dirinya Otis Rush, membawakan lagu “So Many Roads.” Great duet, Great Song !

Sampai saat ini John Mayall, masih bergabung dengan Eagle Rock Entertaiment, termasuk dalam menghasilkan album Stories (2002),  Road Dogs ( 2005) ,  In The Palace Of The King ( 2006) dan TOUGH (2009). Serta tentu saja tak boleh dilupakan CD/DVD JOHN MAYALL The 70th Birthday Concert (2004)  dan DVD THE GODFATHER OF BRITISH BLUES/TURNING POINT

Dibawah ini adalah lagu “So Many Roads” yang dibawakan oleh John Mayall dan Otis Rush dari album ALONG FOR THE RIDE , “So Many Roads “pertama kali dirilis sebagai single pada tahun 1960 oleh Otis Rush, dan dibawakan oleh John Mayall & The Blues Breakers pada tahun 60an, yang termuat dalam album kompilasi John Mayall, LOOKING BACK  (1970)

]]> http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/weekend-playlist-30/ Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:41:29 +0000 dkpresents http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/weekend-playlist-30/ http://gibson335.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/dia7/ Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:04:35 +0000 Fernando http://gibson335.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/dia7/

Homenagem aos canhotos!

Hoje temos Otis Rush, grande bluesman nascido no Mississippi e que contribuiu muito com o Blues de Chicago. Além das ES-335, sua imagem também é associada à ES-355. Ele usa as cordas como se estivessem encordoadas para destro, ou seja, com as mais agudas na parte de cima.

…

Pra quem não conhece, segue um video:

…

Até amanhã!

Blues music may have been forged in the Mississippi Delta, but Chicago is where the music put on a shirt and tie, subsequently achieving commercial respectability. The period between 1950 and 1970 was the prime era for Chicago blues music, when giants like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Junior Wells ruled the roost. Although the music slumped somewhat during the late-1960s, it remains a strong presence today. If you’re looking to start a blues collection, these are the ten Chicago blues albums to begin with…an instant record collection!

1. Muddy Waters – At Newport 1960 (Chess Records, 1960)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

The greatest Chicago blues album ever recorded was made in Rhode Island and not in the studios of Chess Records. Muddy Waters’ explosive 1960 appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, backed by a band that included the talents of harp player James Cotton, guitarist Pat Hare, and pianist Otis Spann, put the Chicago blues on the map and helped bring an entirely new audience to the music.

2. Howlin’ Wolf – Howlin’ Wolf / Moanin’ In The Moonlight (Chess Records, 1962)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Wolf’s first album, Moanin’ In The Moonlight, was released in 1959 and gathers songs that he cut for Chess between 1951 and ‘59, while the self-titled 1962 album (often known as “The Rocking Chair” album for its cover), featured songs recorded in 1961 and ‘62. Put together on a single CD, the songs from Wolf’s first two albums represent some of the artist’s finest work. Backed by the talents of songwriter and studio bass player Willie Dixon and the phenomenal six-string talents of guitarists Hubert Sumlin and Jimmy Rogers, songs like “Wang Dang Doodle,” “Back Door Man,” “Spoonful,” and “Smokestack Lightning” have since become blues and blues-rock standards.

3. Junior Wells – Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmark Records, 1965)

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

The first true Chicago blues album cut in the studio (others were collections of singles or recorded live) was also Wells’ first full-fledged album, and the young harpist pulled out all the stops to make it rock. Hard. Backed by friend and musical foil Buddy Guy (the guitarist listed as “Friendly Chap” on the original vinyl due to contractual legalities), Wells attempted to capture the sound and feel of a performance at a West Side blues club. The general consensus is that Wells accomplished what he set out to do; the harpist would return to Delmark for the equally raucous South Side Blues Jam album in 1970.

4. Otis Rush – The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Varese, 2000)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

The infamous West Side head-cutter recorded eight singles for Eli Toscano’s Cobra Records between 1956 and 1958, each showcasing the fiery guitarist’s innovative six-string style and mournful vocals. All eight songs are collected here, along with an equal number of B-sides, and alternate takes of classics like “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “Double Trouble.”

5. Magic Sam – West Side Soul (Delmark Records, 1967)

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

“Magic” Sam Maghett made his bones the only way a Chicago bluesman could – performing lengthy, exhausting sets in West Side blues clubs, often times playing a total of four or five hours a night. Frustrated by a recording career that was going nowhere, with a string of unsuccessful singles under his belt, Magic Sam went into the studio to record a full-fledged album. West Side Soul was the classic result, a perfect showcase for the blues artist’s soulful vocals and expressive, fluid guitarplay. Tragically dying of a heart attack in 1969 while his fortunes were flying high, today Magic Sam is the third side of a West Side Chicago blues triangle that includes Otis Rush and Buddy Guy.

6. Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Paul Butterfield Blues Band (Elektra, 1965)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

Harp wizard Paul Butterfield’s racially-mixed band revolutionized the Chicago blues, popularizing the music with young rock fans and introducing the talents of guitarists Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop to the world. This self-titled debut would mix inspired covers of classic Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James songs (“I Got My Mojo Working,” “Blues With A Feeling,” “Shake Your Moneymaker”) with newer material, like Nick Gravenites’ “Born In Chicago,” infusing each performance with Butterfield’s soulful vocals and growling harp playing, incendiary guitarwork, and a rock-solid rhythm provided by Chicago blues veterans Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay.

7. Buddy Guy – I Was Walking Through The Woods (Chess Records, 1970)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy recorded for Chess Records from 1960 to 1967, but it was primarily his role as a session player – adding his talents to recordings by artists like Muddy Waters and Koko Taylor – that the Chess Brothers were interested in exploiting. While Guy never had much chart success while at Chess, this collection of ten singles he recorded for the label during the 1960s perfectly frame Guy’s gospel-tinged vocal style and scorching fretwork. Guy would go on to bigger and better things, but this is where it all began….

8. Son Seals – Midnight Son (Alligator Records, 1976)

Photo courtesy Alligator Records

Son Seals is anything but your stereotypical Chicago bluesman – his vocals are raw but potent, lacking the subtlety of a Muddy Waters, while Seals’ fractured, riff-driven guitar style contrasts sharply with the surgical precision of Magic Sam or Otis Rush. With a style distinctively his own, Seals helped usher in a second Chicago blues era, one with heavier rock & roll and lighter jazz influences. Although slicker and more polished than his self-titled 1973 debut, Midnight Son compliments Seals’ staggering guitar attack with blustery horns, effectively mixing old-school Chicago with the new generation of guitar-driven, houserockin’ blues music.

9. Jimmy Rogers – Chicago Bound (Chess Records, 1970)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

The former Muddy Waters sideman stepped out on his own in 1955 to pursue a solo career that, while short on commercial achievements, is every bit as influential as any Chicago bluesman, and displayed a longevity that stretched from the 1950s into the late-90s, halted only by Rogers’ death. Chicago Bound collects fourteen songs recorded during the early-50s by Rogers, showcasing the artist’s smooth vocals and inventive fretwork, accompanied by a veritable “who’s who” of Chicago blues, from Muddy Waters and Little Walter to Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and Big Walter Horton. An essential link in the Chicago blues story.

10. Little Walter – His Best (Chess Records, 1997)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

“Little” Walter Jacobs was, undeniably, the major innovative force in blues harp, his talents effectively bridging the rural country-blues tradition of players like John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson and modern harp-blasters like Paul Butterfield and Charlie Musselwhite. Throughout the 1950s, Little Walter’s innovative and aggressive harp style helped define the sound of Chicago blues, and his talents are on full display with His Best, the album offering up 20 reasons why Little Walter is the most influential harp player in blues history.

Is your favourite player/s listed above -if not who would you include?

Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson)?

Rice Miller

or Elmore James?

Elmore James

Who would be in your top 10?

From way back in time, I’ve been in my own zone forcefully taking in air from the outside World’s oxygen supply and then dipping back into the myriad of way out thoughts that occupy my mind. Proof positive that I was left of left began when I dove head first into the gut wrenching, raw emotion and grown folks topics of THE BLUES around 7 or 8 years old.

On the surface I was always able to tussle with the harsh ways of life in a concrete and capitalism based existence showing no scars or L’s except of the self inflicted variety. But when that guitar note bends, or those vocals crackle with a raspy presence of perseverance and power, when the fever pitch of money woes, domestic trife and tests of bullshit bravado from confused men eager to shed their insecurities and earn some phantom fulfillment are all encapsulated in a slow, thick molasses grind of calm, centred, all out agression I finally feel at ease in this strange place.

The pure poetry of simplicity is the Blues, one shout can speak a lifetime and one vibrato hum from deep in the lungs can illustrate what a fragmented thought could never piece together. Obviously I’m perpetually disgusted by the long standing institutional racism present in North America and especially the deep south, before Elvis jacked Arthur Big Boy Crudup for “That’s Allright l’il mama” and Led Zeppelin appropriated “Whole Lotta Love” from Willie Dixon, there was unfiltered commentary and life lessons from the wise that shone musical brilliance and blazed fire on ignorance and that’s what I celebrate to this day.

Listen closely enough and you can hear Otis Rush’s “You Know My Love” blasting through my mind’s eye as it clashes with BDP’s “My Philosophy.”
Thank God I have some soundtracks to live by, Lord knows my minds symphony has a million movements provided by just as many amazing artists.

My favourites have always been Albert King, Albert Collins, Otis Rush, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King (best with Bobby Bland), Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Son House, Muddy Waters (Real name McKinely Morganfield), Bessie Smith, Koko Taylor and the great John Lee Hooker.

Bless Up

Theo3

BB and Bobby (Classic live routine)

Bobby and BB

Otis Rush’s guitar playing is in particularly ghostly form on this long version of “All Your Love.”

More than a few Bobcats have noted that “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’,” the opening song on Bob Dylan’s upcoming release Together Through Life, seems to lean rather heavily on “All Your Love.”

Personally, I think it’s more a case of Dylan drawing from the same stockpile of blues readymades used by Rush and every other blues artist, but there’s no denying the similiarity. Not that this will keep me getting Together Through Life when it comes out — after all, I already have the Cobra anthology that could serve anyone as a fine introduction to the Otis Rush song catalogue.

Every day, our top 666 songs of alltime countdown gets one step closer to #1. Sunday’s song is #472:

Otis Rush – All Your Love

Arguably the greatest Chicago blues guitarist, Rush is lefthanded. Perhaps partly for that reason, like Hendrix, Albert King and Randi Russo, his playing has a distinctively dark feel. In Rush’s case, it’s a combination of screaming, tortured bent chords and ominous passing tones that mingle in his flights up and down the scale, giving his sound a special eeriness. If you’re a blues fan, you know this one, scary intro and outro making a somewhat jarring segue with the upbeat boogie in the middle. Mp3s are everywhere. Like all the best blues guys, Rush is at his best live: the 1975 Live in Japan version is choice, but there are other equally good versions (Chicago Blues, NYC, 2001, for example) floating around in bootleg-land. The link above is a characteristically expansive live take.

With Hound Dog Taylor and his band

Backing up Koko Taylor with Hound Dog

For a minute I was almost sure the Otis Rush album I’d downloaded was the 1999 compilation Good ‘Uns: The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958, but apparently it’s just a custom compilation. Many of the “albums” included in the Blues Collection torrents are like this. Comparing the tracklists, there’s only one song included on the official release not found on the Blues Collection compilation, which would be “Little Red Rooster.”

Speaking of tracks, there are some good ones on this collection. “Double Trouble” reminds me of the deep dark blues of Little Walter’s “Blue and Lonesome,” with an almost identical instrumental break between verses. With haunting lyrics like “Some of this generation is millionares/I can’t even keep decent clothes to wear,” and a delivery remenicent of Buddy Guy with the cheer worn away, this is an excellent example of the edge that Rush displays in this collection. Lately I’ve become bored of happy cheery blues with dark lyrics but a sunny delivery; Rush brings the soul with his voice and unique guitar technique.

According to the always-correct Wikipedia, Rush played left-handed, but unlike most of this breed he simply flipped over a right-handed guitar and played it with the high E on top, without restringing it. Supposedly this gives him a distinctive sound, but if that’s true I wouldn’t know. Apparently few others played in this way, such as Albert King, Coco Montoya and Dick Dale.

When I first heard “All Your Love” performed by the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton, I thought I’d hit paydirt, the good stuff, the real shit, but after hearing Otis Rush’s performance here, the Clapton version sounds like a by-the-numbers retread. There’s a litheness to his vocals; in comparison Clapton seems to be trying too hard to belt it out into the rafters. The guitar work is much darker. This is what I was imagining when I first got into the blues and imagined smoky cellar-bars with a band that plays till the early morning.

“Violent Love” is a more conventional blues song, but even here the edge comes through, with the chorus’s refrain of “I want to make violent love to you.” Hearing that line in such an old-school song is frankly hilarious. I can almost imagine stuffy white people of the late 50s nodding their heads along with the lyrics until the chorus comes and scandalizes them.

Another outstadingly dark song is “My Love Will Never Die.” The halting beat, the sax solo and the call-and-response between Rush and his guitar all equal a song just dripping with the blues. One last highlight in this collection is “Keep On Lovin’ Me Baby,” the upbeat shuffle where Rush recurringly shouts, “Whoa-oh-oh-yeah, whoa-oh-oh-yeah!” This was actually the song that had me sit down and take notice of this collection, because this song goes beyond the usual blues-by-the-numbers to sound timeless, as if it isn’t strictly a blues song but is an excellent rock and roll song that happens to be bluesy.

Further listening:

• Otis Rush, Right Place, Wrong Time (1976), Live in Europe (1977)